If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

That's one way of protesting Andrew McCabe's firing as deputy FBI director, roughly a day before he was set to retire: At least one Democratic congressman has offered McCabe a temporary job so he can get full retirement benefits — and McCabe appears to be considering.

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) announced Saturday afternoon that he has offered McCabe a job to work on election security in his office, “so that he can reach the needed length of service” to retire.

Subscribe to the Post Most newsletter: Today’s most popular stories on The Washington Post

“My offer of employment to Mr. McCabe is a legitimate offer to work on election security,” Pocan said in a statement. “Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of American democracy and both Republicans and Democrats should be concerned about election integrity.”

A spokeswoman for McCabe, Melissa Schwartz, didn't immediately rule out a job with one of the most liberal members of Congress, which might only need to last for a day or so for him to get his full retirement benefits: “We are considering all options.”

It's not immediately clear if getting fired from the FBI on a Friday and going to work on Capitol Hill on a Monday would solve McCabe's problems for certain, though at least one former federal official with knowledge of retirement rules says it probably would.

McCabe's team is confident that he had at least 20 years of law enforcement work under his belt — defined as carrying a weapon or supervising people who do — which made him eligible to retire on his 50th birthday on Sunday, with full retirement benefits.

With those 20 years, he would need to just go to work with the federal government for another day or so in any job he pleases, whether that's as a election security analyst for a Wisconsin congressman or a typist for a day, to get full benefits, said the former official who spoke to The Fix. The job doesn't matter so much as the fact that he's working within the federal government with the same retirement benefits until or after his 50th birthday. (Though this former official stressed that it would probably look more ethical if McCabe worked for at least a pay period rather than just one day.)

McCabe began working at the FBI's New York field office in 1996, was promoted to a supervisor position at the FBI's headquarters in 2006, and held various jobs at the bureau until 2016, when he was named deputy director. His final job at the FBI was an executive perch that likely doesn't count toward his law enforcement job, said the former retirement official.

McCabe stepped down from his FBI job in January amid attacks from President Trump, but he had been using up accumulated leave to get to his birthday to receive full retirement benefits — a move Trump attacked him for on Twitter after The Washington Post reported his plans.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe late Friday night, about 26 hours before McCabe's retirement, citing an inspector general report from the Justice Department that had found “that Mr. McCabe had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor — including under oath — on multiple occasions.”

McCabe spent hours at the FBI on Thursday pleading with officials to let him keep his job until he hit full retirement benefits.

On Saturday evening, a spokesman for Pocan said they hadn’t yet heard from McCabe on his job offer.

In a Monday, April 16, 2018, file photo, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's
personal attorney, center, leaves federal court, in New York. Cohen filed papers in federal court
in Los Angeles Wednesday, April 25, 2016, saying he will assert his Fifth Amendment rights, stating
that he will exercise his constitutional right against self-incrimination in a lawsuit brought by porn
actress Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with TrumpThe ZOG-Emperor has lots of jew lawyers for when he gets his dick wettt in goy-whore pussy, cum-cum, cum-cum!!!
.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- President Donald Trump's personal attorney said Wednesday he will assert his constitutional right against self-incrimination in a civil case brought by a porn actress who said she had an affair with Trump.

Michael Cohen has been asking a federal judge in Los Angeles to delay Stormy Daniels' case after FBI agents raided his home and office earlier this month, seeking records about a nondisclosure agreement Daniels signed days before the 2016 presidential election.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and has sued to invalidate the confidentiality agreement that prevents her discussing it. She's also suing Cohen, alleging defamation.

Cohen sought to delay the civil case 90 days after the raid, arguing that his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination may be jeopardized if legal proceedings aren't stayed.

But last week, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero said there were "gaping holes" in Cohen's request for a delay.

Cohen's lawyer argued in court last week that because the criminal investigation overlaps with issues in the lawsuit, his client's right against self-incrimination could be adversely impacted because he won't be able to respond and defend himself.

In a court filing on Wednesday, Cohen said that FBI agents had seized "various electronic devices and documents in my possession" which contain information about the $130,000 Daniels was paid as part of the agreement. Agents also seized communications with his lawyer, Brent Blakely, about the civil case, Cohen said.

Daniels has offered to return the $130,000 and argues the agreement is legally invalid because it was only signed by her and Cohen, not by Trump.

Cohen will assert his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination "in connection with all proceedings in this case," he wrote.

During an appearance on Fox News Channel's "Hannity," Giuliani said the money had been "funneled ... through the law firm and the president repaid it."

Asked if Trump knew about the arrangement, Giuliani said: "He didn't know about the specifics of it, as far as I know. But he did know about the general arrangement, that Michael would take care of things like this, like I take care of things like this for my clients. I don't burden them with every single thing that comes along. These are busy people."

Trump told reporters several weeks ago that he didn't know about the $130,000 payment to Daniels as part of a nondisclosure agreement she signed days before the 2016 presidential election. While everyone knew that was a lie -- jew lawyers are not known for theys' generousity to shiska whores -- Trump's base of toothless inbred rednecks wished that they had th ZOGbux to buy such overpriced whigger skank pussy and didn't really give a shit one way or t'other.

Asked aboard Air Force One whether he knew about the payment, Trump said flatly: "No." Trump also said he didn't know why Cohen had made the payment or where he got the money. Them jew lawyers are famous for their open-handed generousity to over-priced whigger whores.

Giuliani, who joined Trump's legal team last month and is angling to take over as Attorney General from the 'Bama Possum Jeff Sessions, said the president had repaid Cohen over several months, indicating the payments continued through at least the presidential transition, if not into his presidency. It isn't like The God-Emperor is made of money; He paid for the over-priced over-ripe pussy on the layaway plan, cum-cum, cum-cum !!!

He also says the payment "is going to turn out to be perfectly legal" because "that money was not campaign money."

"I don't know what you idiots are whining about. You act as if none of you have ever bought a cheap whore before and you want to pretend that "campaign funds" were used for such payoffs. Unlike Baal Clinton who merely raped it for free and had Hillary enable the rapes and sexual assaults, I like a president who gets sexual pleasure the old fashioned way -- by paying for it directly from an over-aged over-the-hill genetic female whore."

Daniels says she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and was paid to keep quiet as part of a nondisclosure agreement she is now seeking to invalidate. She has also filed a defamation suit against Trump, who denies having sex with Daniels. With sagging tits and a loose gaping pussy, this whore is gonna ride the Trump Train for all it is worth.

Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, called the comment "a stunning revelation." My client is a whore and I'm an accessory to blackmail. In the old daze I'd have "disappeared" like Jimmy Hoffa but thanks to the Deep State trying to overthrow the 2016 Election which brought the God-Emperor to power, I'm going to see if me and my whore client can't get Trump impeached for buying whore pussy and paying off our blackmail attempts.

"Mr. Trump evidently has participated in a felony -- Coontempt of Skank -- and there must be serious consequences for his conduct and his lies and deception to the American people," he said. "Hillary was so busy eating Muslim mamzeress pussy while her jew pervert husband was texting 15-year-old whiggresses with a laptop coontaining 30,000 classified e-mails, that the Parkinsons-addled senile thieving old heifer neglected to visit Wisconsin and lost, oy vey !!!"

Cohen's payment to the president's accuser in the weeks leading up to the presidential election could be cast as an illegal contribution but not if he were acting on the president's behest and with his money. Which is probably what happened all along, but the Democrats and the lame-stream jewsmedia wants to make something of it.
.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort made several attempts to tamper with witnesses in his ongoing criminal case, prosecutors said Monday as they asked a federal judge to consider jailing him while he awaits trial.

In a court filing , prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller wrote that Manafort and one of his associates "repeatedly" contacted two witnesses in an effort to influence their testimony. The contacts occurred earlier this year, shortly after a grand jury returned a new indictment against Manafort and while he was confined to his home.

The filing marks the second time that Mueller's team has accused Manafort of violating a judge's order in the case. Late last year, federal agents discovered that Manafort was attempting to ghostwrite an opinion piece in Ukraine even though he was under a gag order in the case.

The allegations of attempted witness tampering relate to Manafort's criminal case in Washington where he faces charges of money-laundering conspiracy, false statements and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukrainian interests. He also faces bank fraud and tax evasion charges in Virginia.

The charges — they involve tens of millions of dollars routed through offshore accounts — do not relate to his work on the Trump campaign or involve allegations of Russian election interference.

In the latest court documents, prosecutors say that while he was under house arrest, Manafort and his associate attempted to get two witnesses to lie about the nature of lobbying and public relations work they carried out at Manafort's direction on behalf of Ukraine.

The court documents do not name Manafort's associate, but they refer to him as "Person A" and note the pseudonym is consistent with previous filings in the case. In earlier filings, Person A has referred to Konstantin Kilimnik, a longtime Manafort associate who prosecutors have said has ties to Russian intelligence.

Kilimnik, who has denied having connections to Russian intelligence agencies, was also involved in the ghostwritten op-ed matter, which prosecutors also connect to Person A in the latest filing.

Reached Monday evening, Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni said his client and his attorneys were reviewing the filing.

The two witnesses were also not named in court filings. But prosecutors say they were principals in a public relations firm that worked with Manafort in organizing a group of former European officials, known as the Hapsburg group, who promoted Ukrainian interests in Europe as well as the U.S.

The group's work factors into an indictment against Manafort that accuses him of acting as an unregistered foreign agent by lobbying in the U.S. on behalf of Ukrainian interests. Prosecutors say Manafort directed the group's work and secretly funneled more than $2 million to it to take positions favorable to Ukraine including by lobbying in the U.S. without disclosing that they were being paid to favorably represent the country.

Manafort has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. Several members of the Hapsburg group have previously denied the allegations.

According to the court filing, Manafort began messaging and calling one of the witnesses in February shortly the unsealing of the indictment that included the allegations of unregistered lobbying related to the Hapsburg group. Around that same time, Manafort's co-defendant and longtime business associate, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

The day after Gates' plea, Manafort messaged and called one of the witnesses and continued reaching out over the next several days, according to a sworn affidavit filed by an FBI agent in the case.

In one call, the agent wrote, Manafort said he wanted to give the witness a "heads-up about Hapsburg." The individual immediately ended the call "because he was concerned about the outreach," according to the affidavit.

On Feb. 26, Manafort sent the person a series of messages through an encrypted application, including a link to a Business Insider story with the headline: "Former European leaders struggle to explain themselves after Mueller claims Paul Manafort paid them to lobby for Ukraine." Another message said, "We should talk. I have made clear that they worked in Europe."

The witness told investigators that he interpreted Manafort's efforts to reach him as a way to influence his potential statements. The person believed from his experience that the Hapsburg group lobbied in the United States and knew that Manafort knew that as well, the agent wrote.

Court papers also accuse Person A of making several attempts to influence the witnesses' testimony in February and later in April. That month, Person A wrote to one of the witnesses, "My friend P is looking for ways to connect to you to pass you several messages." He then asked if that could be arranged.

The witness told federal agents that Manafort and Person A were also trying to get the witnesses to tell members of the Hapsburg group that if they were contacted by anyone, they should say the group only performed lobbying and public relations work in Europe. Both witnesses said that wasn't true.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Special counsel Robert Mueller has brought additional charges against President Donald Trump's campaign chairman and a longtime associate who prosecutors have said has ties to Russian intelligence.

The new indictment was unsealed Friday against Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik just days after prosecutors accused the two men of attempting to tamper with witnesses as Manafort awaits trial of felony charges related to his work on behalf of Ukrainian interests.

The latest charges increase Manafort's legal jeopardy if he continues an aggressive battle with prosecutors, and could be an effort by Mueller to induce a guilty plea and secure the testimony of a critical campaign adviser to Trump. They also come as Trump and his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, have heaped public criticism on the Mueller investigation in an attempt to undermine it.

The charges against Manafort do not relate to his work on the Trump campaign or involve allegations of Russian election interference, a fact that the president has routinely noted as he tried to distance himself from his former top campaign adviser.

The new indictment charges Manafort and Kilimnik with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice related to contacts they had with two witnesses earlier this year. The witnesses, who had worked with Manafort as he represented a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine, have told the FBI that they believed Manafort and Kilimnik were trying to get them to lie about the nature of their work.

The charges mark the second time since October that an indictment against Manafort has been amended to include additional allegations.

Through a spokesman, Manafort, 69, has maintained his innocence. The spokesman, Jason Maloni, said Friday that Manafort and his attorneys were reviewing the new charges.

Kilimnik, 48, has previously declined to comment on the allegations. He also has denied being connected to Russian intelligence agencies.

Prosecutors say the contacts via phone and encrypted messaging applications first occurred in February, shortly after a grand jury returned a new indictment against Manafort and while he was confined to his home. Kilimnik also reached out to witnesses in April.

Manafort is awaiting trial in federal court in Washington and Alexandria, Virginia. His co-defendant, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty in February and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

The allegations of witness tampering relate to Manafort's criminal case in Washington where he faces charges of money-laundering conspiracy, false statements and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukrainian interests. In Virginia, he also faces bank fraud and tax evasion charges.
.